Coming Attractions: Kidman Vs. Cruz

NEW YORK – Tom Cruise has made his choice, and now moviegoers will get to make theirs, as Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz release films within a week of each other.

Both films — Kidman's The Others, opening tomorrow, and Cruz's Captain Corelli's Mandolin, opening Aug. 17 — are set during World War II. But there the similarity ends.

In the eerie horror flick The Others, Kidman turns in what some are calling an Oscar-worthy performance as the mother of two children who fears that her isolated English mansion has been invaded by ghosts. Captain Corelli's Mandolin is — coincidentally enough — a love-triangle romance.

Set on the Greek island of Cephallonia, it tells of an Italian army captain (Nicolas Cage) who falls in love with Cruz's Pelagia, who is already married to a local fisherman (Christian Bale.)

The Others — and Kidman's performance, in particular — has been garnering early raves from critics. Daily Variety said Kidman is "surpassingly fine."

But early reviews for "Captain Corelli," which was released in the United Kingdom on May 4, have been mixed. Variety noted a "singular lack of chemistry" between Cage and Cruz and said the flick strikes "too many false notes."